We Love Aunt Paige!

A few tidbits about Paige:

- From Houston, Currently in Dallas

- 3rd Grade Teacher

- Baylor University Graduate x2 (undergrad and masters)

- Lover of Coffee

- Hater of Chocolate, I know, I know....awful, isn't it?

- World Traveler 

- Loves to dance (if you can two step then you get bonus points) ;-) 

I've written about Paige before and this post {HERE} can tell you more about my best friend Paige. 

We met in college (at Baylor, Sic'em Bears!) and were fast friends. Even moving halfway across the country didn't keep us from staying friends. Heck, the woman DROVE WITH ME halfway across the country when I was 8 months pregnant! Best friends for sure. And she's the best Aunt. Ever. :-)

Although I like to say Paige is MY best friend, I'm pretty sure Emma Claire thinks Paige is HER best friend. In fact during her last visit Emma Claire kept saying "Aunt Paige best frand" over and over. It was so cute.

 So there you have it! If anyone knows a swell guy out there...preferably athletic, who speaks with a country twang, and can two step then give me a holler!

Cold Weather

Today I'm just sharing a few pictures I've taken since we've been cooped up in the house day in and day out with pretty cold temps outside. 

After our first snow Emma Claire had fun playing with it and eating some too.

She was signing "cold" and making her cold face. I love it. 

She has gotten a lot of use out of her headlamp that Granddaddy got her for Christmas. 

This picture isn't anything special but it was a rare moment when everything just clicked.  She was entertained reading books, I got to cook dinner and clean, a candle was burning, and I had music playing. It was just such a peaceful half hour. I had to snap a picture to freeze this moment in time.

 

Someone has a tic tac obsession...I blame Bekah for this. ;-) 

 As pretty as the falling snow is...I'm ready for SPRING! Can I get an Amen?

First Haircut 1.15.14

Well I think the title of this post is pretty self explanatory. Yesterday, Emma Claire got her first haircut! My friend Bekah asked me last week if I wanted to do a double date for first haircuts. Of course I said yes! I have been too chicken to trim EC's hair myself, so I wanted to go let a pro even it all out first. I do plan on regularly trimming it myself for a while after this. We had too much fun and managed to do it on our "weekend" so that daddy got to tag along too. 

She was a little unsure at first. 

So serious. 

But she quickly warmed up. And LOVED every second of it. 

 I love those little hands, and her sparkly nail polish.

Time to get blown dry! She loved this part too. 

Look at that smile. 

 All done!

Side shot. 

Other side. 

From the back!

Such a cheesy smile and gosh awful lighting, but I love it. 

Emma Claire and Gracie chatting. They're like "WHAT just happened!?"

Love these sweet girls. 

Bekah and Gracie!

Such.A.Ham. I love it. 

And this one...I have no clue what I'm going to do with her .

Running off some energy before lunch. 

 Cheesecake factory to celebrate!

And the picture of the day. Bekah said, "There's a sucker on my back isn't there..." right before I snapped this. So funny. 

I wish I knew what they were chatting about.

I feel so blessed by my friendship with Bekah and I love watching Emma Claire and Gracie's friendship blossom. We always get asked if they are sisters or cousins and yesterday a woman came up to me and said, "They're soul sisters. You can just tell." So now the dynamic duo has a new nickname, "Soul Sistas" and it fits them perfectly. I can't wait to watch them grow up together. Actually...I can. Because life is just moving ahead TOO quickly. I love this age and their little friendship in this stage.

 

2013 in 12

So I decided I wanted to choose ONE picture taken with my "big" camera to represent each month of 2013. For someone who takes thousands of pictures per month, this was not an easy task. Aside from watching Emma Claire grow from a baby to a big girl in the blink of an eye, it was fascinating for me to watch my photography style change dramatically. And yes. She was quite obsessed with sunglasses from March-May ;-)

January

February 

March

 April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

White House Christmas Tour 2013

A few weeks ago we went on our annual White House Christmas tour. As usual everything was beautiful and it is just so surreal to walk through the halls where history has been made. Last year our tour was at night which made everything that more magical. Not that daytime tours aren't special but I just love them at night. And also, this year the weather was just awful, it was warm and humid and raining. Not that I'm complaining, more so just explaining my awful hair!

 Emma Claire looking at the first lady's garden.

We love Laura. 

Why yes. That would be my child on the wrong side of the rope. 

She was OBSESSED with this eagle. We spent a good 5 minutes here. 

Her face. I just love her. 

Posing out front before going to get coffee. 

The national tree. I don't have any pictures closer up because someone was too busy running around. And then it started to rain again.